anyone a member? or former one?

I've just come across this reference article on this site. It may help you.
If the Praise Chapel you are talking about has a connection with CFM, then i would say that yes, it is a high demand group, remember though that there will be some differences between these churches depending on the personality of the pastor. My old CFM template church, from what i have read of other ones, was not quite as extreme/damaging (again, because of the type of person the pastor was).

www.culteducation.com/reference/door/door8.html

A former member of praise chapel contacted me in the last few weeks complaining of horrendous mental abuse. This is the organisation which was led by a guy called Mike Neville if I rememebr correctly. There is a deliverance ministry going on there now where the pastor accuses all and sundry of having demons inside them and then compelling them to vomit into bins as he 'delivers' them.

The church is also very abusive and high pressure when it comes to getting money and the minister is constantly running down other churches. Apart from the deliverance thing it has Potters House written all over it. Incidently the Potters House were into the deliverance thing when Praise Chapel was part of Wayman Mitchell's organisation.

It boggles the mind to see how many people are victims of these kinds of groups. I'm determined to get as many people out of these abusive groups as possible. The damage they do is inestimable. If I have any more info to share on Praise Chapel I will try to post it here. Hopefully it will help someone.

regards...naboth675

[www.habakkuk2-4.com]

It is true that Praise Chapel used to be affiliated with CFM, but Mike Neville took a strong stance against the way Mitchell "ran" the fellowship. Pastor Mike was a very loving man who set in motion a tremendous ministry. I understand that there are many denominations with many different doctrinal differences, and people have a tough time dealing with differences. I gave my life to Christ in a Praise Chapel 21 years ago. I personally knew Mike Neville and his precious wife Donna. God used that man in an incredible way. He invested his life, up until the day he went home to be with the Lord, into men who would carry on the vision of church planting. He invested his life into a man who later became my Pastor, Phil Hernandez. I am now a Pastor of a Praise Chapel in the City of La Habra, CA. We have planted a couple out of our church into the City of La Mirada, CA. Souls are being saved! We don't "control" people's lives. I invite you to come and visit our powerful church. See how God is touching and changing lives. I have been around long enough to remember the CFM influence and I now work very hard to see Pastors who break away from CFM restored into a loving Fellowship. As a matter of fact, my wife and I are leaving for Suriname, South America in a week to spend two weeks with a group of churches who have pulled away from CFM within the last two years. If Praise Chapel has to have a label I hope it is one of restoration, not control.

I stumbled across this forum and felt it necessary to share a point of view from a man who is completely satisfied with how God has used Praise Chapel to restore a broken life - mine- and how God continues to use this work as a tool in these last days.

Lastly - we don't "squeeze" money out of the people who attend. I am a working Pastor who has developed a business that is quite successful and I currently employ two other Pastors and am training four other men how to begin their own businesses. I was taught by Mike Neville, Lee Coons and Phil Hernandez to give, give, give. God provides the needs of the church. God bless you. I pray that this is insightful to some.

Pastor Greg Cole
Praise Chapel La Habra

Hello pastor Greg.

I'm glad to hear from you that there are Praise Chapel chruches that are not following the cfm pattern. I am, however, very concerned about the reports of horrific mental abuse that I have had coming in to my message board. I am currently in communication with a gentleman who is unaware of cfm's tactics and pratices but yet described the things going on in his Praise Chapel church. It is so similar it is uncanny. If anything it's worse than what I experienced at the Potters House.

I certainly don't want to make the mistake of tarring you all with the same brush but hopefully I'll get back to you with more details on that particular church and that will give you the opportunity to respond.

At present I have over a dozen recent accounts from my source on my message board

[groups.yahoo.com]

Incidently maybe you can comment on your position regardingthe deliverance ministry and certain pastors who claim to be able to discern demon spirits in christians and have the power to cast them out. This sounded very suspect and maybe you could also give us a few details about the structure your church has to ensure accountability.

regards...naboth675

Let me tell you on how Praise Chapel not only saved my life, but put me on a path of complete restoration and a new found love for life and people. My life has been nothing but blessed since coming to Praise Chapel La Habra and serving under Pastor Greg Cole. I was a 25 years old when i was saved and attended Calvery Chapel Diamond Bar for 2 1/2 years. It was a nice church, but kinda just felt lost there. To the fault of no one else but myself i ran away from God and what he was trying to do in my life and that was to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. A few years later i met Pastor Greg through my mother, who has been serving under him for 7 years now and it has been a blessing to meet someone who not only cares, but shows it.

The Pastors i have met throughout Praise Chapel are caring men and women who want to nothing but to serve God and see souls saved and serve God also. Sure they each have spoken into my life, but that is just to see my destiny in God fulfilled. WOW, to have a Pastor who cares so much about each person in his congregation, what a crime.

To know a man who cares more about seeing souls saved and serving God than anything else is truly a blessing and is unheard of this day and age. The time he has put into our lives (my family) while taking away time from his family is not natural and anyone who would come against that would seem to me to be lost.

One more thing,I have never been pressured to give my time, or money to our church i do it on my own understanding of what is biblical. I give of both because my God is deserving and loved for what he has done in our lives. Since i do CHOOSE to be a leader and be involved in many ministries in our church it is my responsiblity to give and to give WILLINGLY! I would invite anyone to our church just to experience the power and movement of God in our church. He is truly worthy of all my praise and worship

Frequently a key to understanding if there might the potential for serious problems in a given church is the checks and balances regarding accountability that are in place.

1. Does the church have a democratic process and elected elected board, which can hold the pastor accountable? What are its bylaws?

2. Is there meaningful financial transparency? That is, does the church publish an independently audited financial statement, which details all salaries, compensation and expenses paid out?

If the church doesn't have such meaningful accountability it may be little more than a dictatorship run by the pastor, much like a family business, though it may have tax-exempt status.

Just a brief note from Pastor Greg again. I apologize for not being able to take the time needed to answer every question in detail at this time. We are pushing to get all loose ends tied prior to leaving the country. Quickly: Accountability is of the utmost importance. Financial reports are sent out to our Mother Church and to what we call Global Harvest. They function as the Corporate overseers for many facets of our churches. Yes, we do have an independent, outside accountant who audits our books. Our goal is someday to be able to purchase a building rather than rent, so we have to have our "ducks in a row". We do have little different structure than say the A/G or Foursquare churches when it comes to "boards". I grew up in the A/G and watched the board members duke it out...what an experience. We do have our leadership who help guide the church and the board of directors for the Corporation consists of other Pastors to whom I am accountable. We have learned a lot over the 30 years we have been in existance, and as we come across something that can be improved, we do our best to improve it.

Lastly, any details you can give me about a mind-controlling Pastor in our Fellowship would be appreciated. I have no problem being the voice to speak up to the governing board of our Fellowship and request that it be looked into. As with any organization there may be some loose nuts out there, and if they are unwilling to get in line with the Word of God and Bylaws of our Fellowship, they will be removed from the office of Pastor by their Mother Church. Each church is operated independently but with a strong link to the Praise Chapel Fellowship. Please feel free to call me if you would rather discuss this over the phone. Honestly, I take the word CONTROL very serious, and will do whatever it takes to eliminate that image.

Sincerely,

Pastor Greg

Preacherman:

So there is no democratically elected board that can discipline and if necessary fire a pastor and therefore each individual pastor has no meaningful accountability to his congregation.

There is no published and audited financial report distributed to each tithing member of the church that details all salaries, compensation and expenses paid out from the money they contribute.

Please don't post phone numbers here.

Thanks

Former member right here. I was in Praise Chapel for about four years. Probably one of the worst experiences of my life. The question raised, is it a cult? Yes. Absolutely. Do they practice spiritual abuse? Yes. Do they engage in mind control techniques? Yes. Do they demand tithes, and practice intimidation and public humiliation if one does not comply with the orders of the pastor? Yes. Do they ask for and receive "love offerings" in order for the pastors to take expensive vacations? Yes. Does the senior pastor drive a new Mercedes Benz when there isn't enough money to pay the telephone bill? Yes. Do other churches in the area consider them to be a cult? Yes. Do the pastors lie and practice deciet? Yes. Do they badmouth other churches and religious organizations? Yes. Do they claim to be different than any other church, and better than anyplace else? Yes. Do they badmouth people who decide to leave the church and label them as rebellious and having lost their salvation? Yes. Do they place Jesus second and exhalt themselves and persons in leadership? Yes. Do they engage in love bombing techniques? Yes. Is everything there under the complete and total authority of the pastor and no one else? Yes. It is a totalistic system. It is an aborrational fringe church. Everything I've learned recently about CFM ministry continues today, despite Praise Chapel's non affiliation and their claims to be different. I have friends who left that one particular aborrational church to attend different Praise Chapels in the Los Angeles area and have found them all to be the same. The mother church is located in Hunting Park, California. The senior pastor there is Donna Neville.